Description
Drawing Flying Dinosaurs!
Draw prehistoric flyers. Then create creatures of your own.
Spend two days with Terryl Whitlatch exploring how anatomy, movement, and imagination come together in believable animals, expressive characters, and original creature designs.
Okay, technically they’re not dinosaurs!
Terryl will explore pterosaurs, the extraordinary flying reptiles that lived alongside the dinosaurs, including their anatomy, biology, locomotion, and how they can inspire original creature designs.
There’s More to a Flying Creature Than Its Wings.
How does its body support those wings? What makes a pose feel convincing? How far can you exaggerate a design without losing the sense that it could be a living animal?
In this 2-day virtual workshop, Terryl will connect the study of prehistoric flying reptiles with the creative choices behind compelling drawings. You’ll explore their biology, anatomy, flight mechanics, and aspects of locomotion, then see how those ideas can inform dynamic poses, stylized animal characters, and imaginative creatures.
Terryl will also develop a creature design inspired by pterosaurs, showing how anatomical reference can become the starting point for something new.
About the title: The prehistoric flyers at the heart of this workshop are pterosaurs, often called pterodactyls. They were flying reptiles that lived alongside dinosaurs, rather than dinosaurs themselves. The title is playful; the anatomy is an important part of the learning.
Learn Directly From Terryl Whitlatch
Terryl Whitlatch is a creature designer and animal anatomy specialist whose film credits include Star Wars, Jumanji, Brave, and Brother Bear. Her work brings together scientific observation and imaginative design.
This workshop gives you time to follow her thinking as she draws, explains anatomical relationships, explores poses, and develops ideas. With live demonstrations and interactive Q&A, you can ask about the choices behind the artwork rather than simply study the finished result.
What You’ll Explore
Anatomy & Biology
Study the skeletal structure, musculature, and wing anatomy that give these prehistoric animals their distinctive forms.
Flight & Movement
Explore how anatomy informs flight and locomotion, and how that understanding can make your drawings feel more convincing.
Bats, Birds & Pterosaurs
Compare pterosaurs with bats, living birds, and prehistoric birds to examine different approaches to the challenge of flight.
Push the Pose
Explore stronger gestures, clearer silhouettes, and more expressive poses while keeping the animal’s structure in mind.
Stylized Animal Characters
Learn how anatomical knowledge can support simplification, exaggeration, personality, and appeal in animal character design.
Original Creature Design
Follow Terryl as she develops a creature inspired by pterosaurs, connecting prehistoric anatomy with new imaginative possibilities.
A Variety of Prehistoric Flyers
Discussion and reference examples may include Pteranodon, Rhamphorhynchus, Dimorphodon, Cryodrakon, and the wider variety of pterodactyloid and other pterosaurs.
These are examples of animals that may be discussed or used as reference, not a fixed drawing checklist. Terryl’s demonstrations will focus on the anatomy, movement, posing, and design principles being taught; not every animal named or pictured will receive a separate drawing demonstration.
Samples of Terryl’s Work
Explore more of Terryl Whitlatch’s work below. These examples offer a look at the drawing and design approach she brings to her teaching.
For Artists Who Want to Go Beyond the Reference
This workshop is especially relevant to illustrators, animators, paleoartists, character designers, and creature designers interested in connecting anatomy with imagination.
The subject is prehistoric flight, but the creative questions reach further: how to build a believable animal, give it personality, push a pose, and turn real-world inspiration into an original design.
Watch Live. Revisit Both Days Later.
Your registration includes both days of live online instruction and unlimited replay access. Join the demonstrations and Q&A live, then return to the recordings to review an anatomical explanation, study a pose, or follow a design decision at your own pace.
You do not have to watch every hour live to benefit. Register before the event and use the replays to catch the sessions you miss.
We’ll email registered attendees a private access link approximately 3 days before the workshop. Live access and replays are reserved for registered attendees.
Member Savings
Annual Members and Lifetime Members save 50% on registration.
Streaming Members save 25%.
Please log in to your membership account before purchasing. Advance registration is required for members as well.
Be There for the Drawing. Keep the Learning.
Join Terryl Whitlatch on November 14 & 15, 2026 for two days of prehistoric anatomy, flight, expressive posing, and creature design.
This workshop will not be available for purchase after the event. Reserve your place in advance, even if you plan to watch through the replays.
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